The Way of Restraint

Chapter 66: Flawless and Smooth: The Villain Returns

“Lie down!”

Su Jie gave a swift hook with his foot, sharp as a sickle cutting wheat, and his opponent immediately lost balance and crashed to the ground.

Inside the ring at the Starshine Combat Fitness Club, his opponent was an amateur martial arts enthusiast. However, he had been training for ten years and was also a small business owner—wealthy and with plenty of free time.

His technique and physical ability were excellent, able to go toe-to-toe with city-level athletes. But in front of Su Jie, one shout was all it took for him to fall—he couldn’t even escape.

“Coach Su, your martial arts are getting more and more incredible,” the small business owner said admiringly as he got up.

“Let me try!”

Another challenger stepped forward—a tall, burly office worker who weighed over 200 pounds. But even he was sent crashing to the floor in just three seconds with a single leg sweep.

No matter their size or weight, everyone looked like scarecrows in front of Su Jie. If he said they’d fall, they’d fall. If he said lie down, they’d lie down.

Su Jie had been eager to test the martial arts realm he had just grasped, so he came to the Starshine Combat Fitness Club.

As expected, his technique had become much smoother. It was as if he could sense the flow of air and the subtle shifts in movement. Just a light nudge, and his opponents spun like tops.

This was the essence of Taiji. Japan had a similar martial art called Aikido.

“This all comes from my physical condition. Technique is secondary,” Su Jie knew well in his heart.

He now weighed 85 kilograms, standing tall at 1.85 meters. With this weight, he could already compete in the super middleweight division of boxing. A few more kilos, and he’d qualify for the heavyweight stage.

But just by looking at him, he seemed quite lean—like he weighed less than 70 kilograms.

That was because his body was extremely solid, with a thick and sturdy frame—like it was forged from refined steel.

Odell’s training had given him the best physical foundation. But if that was all there was, his fitness level would still be no different from regular provincial or city-level athletes. He wouldn’t have been able to break through to the level he was at now.

It was Uncle Mang’s massages that had pushed his external martial arts to a profound realm.

Thinking back—Uncle Mang’s massages were so intense even a national-level athlete like Zhou Chun couldn’t endure them. But Su Jie had, and he had reaped the rewards.

Then came acupuncture, which was even more painful than massages.

After that, he underwent electrotherapy—the cutting-edge method used to train elite special agents abroad.

Even that, Su Jie endured, and in the end, it successfully reshaped his body.

He had met the right people at the best age.

At fifteen or sixteen, his body was in its most rapid growth phase.

Had he only met Odell and Uncle Mang after turning eighteen, he might not even have achieved a third of his current results.

Not just him—even an ordinary child with proper nutrition could grow a full centimeter in just one or two weeks during that age range.

One of Su Jie’s classmates had been only 1.65 meters tall in his first year of high school, but by the end of the semester, he had shot up to 1.8 meters.

Every time Su Jie thought of this, he felt incredibly lucky for his decision to attend the summer martial arts training camp at the Minglun Martial Arts Academy. At the same time, he felt a lingering fear—what would his life be like now if he hadn’t made that decision?

Fate was so strange and unpredictable that Su Jie couldn’t help but feel deeply emotional.

And it constantly reminded him—he must not waste these golden years. He had to seize every opportunity.

“Su Jie, your martial arts have improved again.”

Hua Xing stepped in and sparred briefly with Su Jie.

As soon as they engaged, Su Jie stepped in, tore through, and used a takedown to swiftly bring Hua Xing to the floor. Clean and efficient.

At that moment, two more coaches jumped in to join Hua Xing and surround Su Jie.

Su Jie crouched low, his height instantly dropping to around 1.4 meters. He dodged the strike zones, moving like a nimble monkey, and slipped into a blind spot in their formation—then lunged.

One of the coaches was immediately knocked down.

Just then, Hua Xing’s sweeping kick landed on Su Jie’s back. But his external martial arts training had made him incredibly tough. It was as if nothing had happened. He reached back, grabbed Hua Xing’s leg, and threw him to the ground again.

Only one coach remained. He had just charged in and managed to land a punch on Su Jie’s shoulder.

Su Jie endured the blow. With another swift hook kick—down he went.

In just five seconds, all three coaches were flat on the floor.

“No, this still won’t do. I can’t afford to take even the tiniest hit,” Su Jie shook his head. “Teacher Hua Xing, if your leg just now had been a blade, I would’ve been seriously injured.”

On the surface, it looked like Su Jie had cleanly and decisively taken down three attackers. But the price he paid was a kick and a punch.

If that kick and punch had been replaced by a dagger and a machete, what would the outcome have been? Su Jie knew all too well—especially when dealing with people like the “Gray Wolf,” who were extremely skilled with knives. Just one hit could cut an artery, damage tendons, or even fracture bones.

“Looks like, even with my progress, dealing with three Gray Wolves armed with daggers would be a life-or-death gamble. Sure, I could kill them, but I wouldn’t walk away unscathed either.”

As he thought about the situation that just happened, the reality confirmed what he had already imagined in his mind.

“Of course,” Hua Xing said. “A group fight with weapons is completely different from a one-on-one unarmed duel. In ancient times, generals placed the most importance on armor, weapons, and horses.”

“I get the logic, but seeing it firsthand really drives home how limited the human body is,” Su Jie shook his head. “No wonder Qi Jiguang emphasized battle formations against powerful enemies. It’s nothing like the demonstrations or chasing down street thugs.”

“If you wore a full suit of armor and carried weapons, you’d definitely be a fierce general in ancient times—taking on ten opponents wouldn’t be a problem,” Hua Xing chuckled. He was also fascinated by ancient military combat. “But unfortunately, we’ll never get to see that kind of battlefield. Modern warfare starts with missiles turning cities into ashes. No matter how good your martial arts are, you’re just an ant in comparison.”

This group of martial arts enthusiasts couldn’t help but sigh emotionally at the thought.

“Coach Su, you’re not even seventeen and already this skilled. If you went pro, wouldn’t you easily become national champion?” one of the students asked.

“Coach Su, you’re so young. Have you even gotten your certification yet?” another new student chimed in.

Su Jie had only been working as a coach here for a month.

But with his skills and level, he quickly stood out and attracted a lot of students who became his fans. He had become quite popular at this fitness club.

What’s more, he was humble and patient. He never tried to trick people into buying memberships just to boost performance, which made even more people want to learn from him.

“Of course I have my license,” Su Jie smiled.

He got his certification in just three days.

These days, it was pretty easy to get a coaching license. For an average fitness enthusiast, all you had to do was pay a training institution, go through a short training, memorize a few outlines, and you’d likely pass the exam.

That’s why many small gyms had poorly qualified coaches. Some even hired muscular guys with no certification at all—just to get people to sign up for memberships before vanishing.

But Starshine Combat Fitness Club was a high-end fitness center, and their coaches were all highly qualified. 

Luckily, Su Jie had never been afraid of exams. Whether written or physical, he passed them all in one go.

“Su Jie, you should really enter a competition and win a championship. When you come back, your value as a coach would skyrocket,” Hua Xing chatted with him during a break. “Right now, you’re making just 100,000 a month. I thought that was high, but with your skills, it’s actually low. Let’s not even talk about domestic standards—top-tier coaches abroad with a bit of fame can charge over $10,000 per private session. There was even a rumor that before the biggest crossover fight of boxing champion Pasci’s career, he hired Odell—the legendary ‘Godmaker’—as his coach. The deal wasn’t even a set salary, but a third of the champion’s prize money! That match pulled in $200 million, with over a billion in total revenue. The organizer made a fortune, and Odell walked away with $60 million.”

Su Jie knew about that crossover fight—he’d seen the news. It was a massive matchup between the king of MMA and a boxing legend, hyped up by every major media outlet.

But there was almost no coverage of the boxing champion’s coach. That information was buried, shared only among a tiny circle within the industry. That’s why Odell wasn’t well-known—just bits and pieces could be found online.

In the fitness and fighting world, a coach’s actual skills came second to having won titles and built a name for themselves.

“Don’t be fooled by him. This guy only did a two-month crash course at Minglun Martial Arts Academy, and now he dares pose as a master and act like a coach? Ridiculous.” A voice suddenly cut in.

Su Jie looked over right away—and it was Zhou Chun!

“It’s Zhou Chun!”

“Last month, he won the Shangwu Cup fighting tournament and defeated Bai Lang, who was ranked tenth nationwide. That win put him in the top ten nationally.”

“The Shangwu Cup is a commercial event with national reach, though it’s a notch below veteran competitions like ‘Heshan,’ ‘Jingwu,’ or ‘Hero.’ Still, Zhou Chun’s now considered a national-level expert.”

Some martial arts enthusiasts also recognized Zhou Chun at that moment.

He walked over, accompanied by a man who looked like a lawyer and a senior executive from the Starshine Combat Fitness Club Club.

“Manager Xu, I’m here on behalf of Haoyu Group to evaluate investment opportunities in Starshine Combat Fitness Club,” Zhou Chun said to the executive. “But your club’s standards are seriously lacking—letting a con artist like this work as a coach?”

“He has a license, and his skills are solid,” Manager Xu said, sweating nervously. Su Jie had been brought in by their “Young Master” Qian Zheng—no one dared object. On top of that, Su Jie was well-liked and widely acknowledged as highly capable.

Plus, Su Jie’s presence attracted students from other clubs who came just to check him out.

They weren’t necessarily here to train—just curious. After all, a high school student defeating professional coaches one after another was already headline-worthy. Everyone came to witness the hype, which boosted business significantly.

At first, Manager Xu thought Qian Zheng was just fooling around, but it turned out Su Jie had actually helped bring in more revenue.

“I was there in July when he was training at Minglun Martial Arts Academy. This whole investment might be off the table now,” Zhou Chun said to Manager Xu. “But if you insist he’s not a fraud, I’ll prove it to you later. I hear Mr. Qian is coming soon. For his sake, I’ll wait until he arrives and expose this fraud in person.”